In all the Wrong Directions
by the Chronic Meltdown
Summary: She watched the paddle float away from them. Scowling, she whirled around to glare at the culprit. "This is all your fault." Shizuru gazed at her with a raised eyebrow. "Ara, so it's my fault Kuga-han decided to throw that at my head?" AU, ShizNat
1. Prelude

In all the Wrong Directions

_Prelude_

"_In time we hate that which we often fear."  
_-William Shakespeare

Kuga Natsuki had been having a semi-okay day. It had been partially ruined by Nao's presence, but it was nothing she couldn't fix with a few satisfying verbal spars.

So she'd been having a semi-okay day.

"Ara, is that you, Kuga-han?"

Until that moment, right there.

She scowled reflexively. It was now instinct to do so at the sound of Fujino Shizuru's voice. She turned from her group of friends in order to seek out the owner and found the older girl standing by another table, a cup of tea in hand.

Or at least, Natsuki assumed it was tea. It was the only thing that stupid Fujino knew how to drink, after all.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't recall inviting you."

The crimson eyed girl smiled pleasantly.

"I do believe cruises aren't exclusive to delinquents." She replied smoothly, in that impossibly infuriating voice of hers. "Tokiha-san and the others are here, are they not?"

Natsuki scoffed in response. "At least I'm not a hypocrite."

There was silence, for a few seconds. Shizuru's gaze was unnaturally cold. Natsuki was tempted to pretend to shiver in order to mock her. Except that Fujino's glares were actually kind of scary and intimidating. Not that she would ever admit that.

"Then I hope you take pleasure in knowing that what I feel for you is true."

The words were spoken slowly, softly, warmly. The complete opposite of what they actually meant. They made her tremble with anger.

"It's mutual." She spat, and turned on her heel to march back towards her friends.

Tokiha Mai gazed at her in concern.

"Are you okay?"

She scowled.

"I'm fine." She grumbled, and sat down next to Mikoto. "It was just that stupid Fujino. She's here."

"Kaichou-sama is here?" Chie grinned happily at the other end of the table. "I wonder if we'll be able to see her in her bikini."

Senoh Aoi glared at her and hit the back of her head. "Don't be such a pervert."

"I'm surrounded by lesbians." Yuuki Nao drawled, her fingers tracing lazy patterns on the table's cloth. "Lucky me…"

Natsuki glared at her. "Remind me again why _you're_ here?"

Nao regarded her with contempt. "Because you got lucky and hit the jackpot, pup."

The usual venomous glares were exchanged. Natsuki's spirits gradually lifted. But she still couldn't forget those words, niggling at her in the back of her mind.

"_Then I hope you take pleasure in knowing that what I feel for you is true."_

That stupid Fujino with her stupid 'ara's and her brainless, godforsaken tea.

_I hate you._

**A/N: **

Yes. They hate each other. It's an eventual ShizNat, though. So wait for it. Plus, I'm actually having a lot of fun with the story. This is just the Prelude. First chapter should be posted some time tomorrow. And yeah. Chapters will be _a lot_ longer.


	2. Ch 1: First Steps

In all the Wrong Directions

**Chapter 1: **First Steps

"_Passionate hatreds can give meaning and purpose to an empty life."  
_-Eric Hoffer

When she woke up the next morning, they were surrounded by blue.

The sight left her breathless as she slid out of bed, having caught a glimpse of it through the balcony's glass doors. It was light outside, and a quick glance at the clock revealed that it was nearing six o'clock. She took small, soft steps towards her unpacked bags, making sure not to make enough noise to wake Mai and Mikoto. Well, mostly Mikoto. The girl was way too hyper in the mornings and she wasn't really in the mood to deal with what that entailed.

She'd been having nightmares that involved walking into a room and being wrapped in a giant tea leaf. She had therefore not been able to sleep well.

She scowled and began to mumble under her breath. "Damn tea leaves…they're useless, just like that stupid Fujino…"

Leaning down, she reached out and unzipped one of her bags. She rifled through it until she picked a change of clothes: a dark jacket and some comfortable pants. She changed in the bathroom and tied up her hair. Before leaving the room, she took a quick peek at the bed. She smiled slightly and turned away.

Mikoto always seemed to end up on Mai's bed. It never failed to amuse her.

She sighed and gripped the doorknob before twisting it and stepping out onto the hallway. Only a very select few were already up and moving about. She nodded at one of the ship's employees as he said good morning and proceeded down the hall until she arrived at a room with stairs and several elevators. She stared at the stairs for several moments.

_No_, she finally decided. It would take longer to get there.

She pressed the arrow pointing up and waited until the doors slid open with a high pitched ding. She walked inside and pressed the number ten. Leaning back against the wall, she waited for the doors to close and for the elevator to begin its ascent. She tapped her foot absentmindedly as it rose, impatient to start her jog.

But then the elevator slowed down, three floors before her destination. A tiny noise of irritation escaped her throat. The doors slid open.

Fujino Shizuru blinked in surprise. Kuga Natsuki scowled.

"What the hell?" She grumbled, and added, "Take one of the other elevators."

Shizuru smiled, brief hints of annoyance shining brightly in her eyes.

"I don't think I will."

She then stepped inside and gracefully took her place at the opposite end of the box. Her hair was done up, just like Natsuki's. It made her grimace as the doors closed and the elevator began to rise again.

"Why the hell are you awake?"

Fujino peered at her from the corner of her eye.

"I find it hard to sleep, and so I take jogs in the morning."

Was she serious? Natsuki glowered privately. The thought that she and Fujino might have _anything_ in common made her shudder in disgust.

"And you, Kuga-han?"

She glared in Shizuru's direction.

"None of your business."

The older girl had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "Ara…Kuga-han is a hypocrite."

"H-hypocrite?!" She sputtered, whirling around to face the demon tea drinker, "How the hell does that make me a hypocrite?!"

"You began this conversation." Shizuru helpfully pointed out, just as the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors opened on the tenth floor.

They stepped out. They were very much unaware of ship employees watching them, wondering if everything was alright.

"You were the one who answered! So this is _your_ fault!"

"Ara, but that is because I have manners, unlike Kuga-han."

Natsuki glowered at the eighteen year old, hands clenched into fists.

"I have manners. I just don't feel like wasting them on _you_."

"Ara, Natsuki." The other girl said flatly, "I'm flattered."

"Would you stop it with the 'ara's?!"

It completely slipped past her that the older girl had used her first name. Fujino Shizuru nearly sighed in relief. She hadn't meant to say it.

"Ara ara…how rude."

The younger girl huffed and began to walk outside. Much to her dismay, Fujino followed her.

"You're impossible…!" She stated loudly, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you following me?"

Shizuru almost twitched in irritation. "It's the only way outside, Kuga-han."

Natsuki grimaced and made her way out onto the deck. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way."

"Believe me," Shizuru began as she leaned down to stretch, "I have better things to do."

The younger girl flushed in anger. She managed to bite down the retort that had immediately risen to her mouth. She gritted her teeth and began to stretch, unwilling to ruin her jog just because of a stupid, tea-drinking student council president.

_Damn Fujino._

* * *

It was eight thirty when Mai and Mikoto made their way toward the breakfast hall. They found Natsuki sitting at a table for six, angrily stuffing herself full of what looked to be toast with…mayo.

"Are you…okay?" Mai asked her, raising an eyebrow as her friend violently chomped down on her food.

Natsuki paused mid-bite. "What?"

Mikoto blinked at the both of them. She was feeling rather lost.

"Well…" Mai began tentatively, "You're acting like you always do when Takeda-san is around…which would be generally violent."

She growled. "Don't mention that idiot…He's almost as bad as Fujino."

The red haired girl sighed. "Did something happen with Fujino-san?"

Natsuki's scowl deepened. "No." She muttered darkly, and there was no possible way she could have been clearer.

Mai wasn't stupid, after all. She suppressed her smirk and stood up. "I'm going to go get Mikoto some food. We'll…be right back."

Once they were out of earshot, she began to laugh. Mikoto glanced at her in confusion.

"What's so funny, Mai?"

"Oh, nothing." She replied with a smile, "Natsuki's just way too predictable."

* * *

Later on in the day, after they had been joined by Chie, Aoi, and Nao (who seemed to be slightly off kilter, for some reason), they decided to get into the pools. The day had warmed considerably since Natsuki's jog earlier that morning, and most of them felt as though they were going to die from a heatstroke.

"Ahh…" Aoi moaned pitifully, fanning herself with her hand. "Even in swimsuits, the heat just seems to be getting worse..."

Chie chuckled beside her. "Could it be that you're checking out the girls, Aoi?"

"Chie-chan!" The girl complained, blushing, and Nao rolled her eyes.

She glared at Natsuki. "Why did you make me room with them? They were up to _stuff_ all night!"

The girl smirked as she stretched out languidly in her chair. "That's precisely why I put you with them. We all know you're a closet lesbian, sponge head. You may as well admit to it."

Nao scowled and glowered at her. "_You're_ the closet lesbian. Why else would you detest Fujino so much?"

Natsuki's mood took a sudden nose dive. She stood up from her chair and towered over the younger girl.

"Are you looking to get your face beaten in?" She growled, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

Nao smirked smugly. "I hit a nerve, didn't I?"

"Would you guys quit it?" Mai sighed, and stood from her pool chair in order to go join Mikoto in the water. "Come in the water with us, Natsuki. You'll feel better."

"Fine…" She huffed and shot Nao a short glare for good measure.

The younger girl simply snickered and waved it off before rolling over in order to get her back tanned.

Natsuki followed Mai to one of the deeper areas of the pool. Mikoto was swimming around in circles, and had gathered an amused crowd. She rolled her eyes at the girl's antics but couldn't suppress a smile.

Until she heard very familiar, very irritating laughter. She frowned and looked around, searching for the source.

Was Fujino stalking her, or something?

But no. Fujino Shizuru wasn't even looking at her. She was lying on one of the pool chairs, and, as usual, she was in the middle of a group of bickering girls. She scowled.

"What the hell?" She muttered under her breath, "Must she have a fan base everywhere she goes?"

"Ara ara…" She heard the girl hum, "Please don't fight."

"But Shizuru-sama…!" Natsuki twitched at this. "She won't let me put lotion on you!"

Brainless girl number one glared at brainless girl number two. Three and four took their chances and grabbed for the bottle of lotion. Shizuru merely giggled.

It was driving Natsuki crazy. The whole display was sickening. Disgusting. And she was about to turn away when the older girl glanced up and spotted her.

"Ara…" The delight in her voice made Natsuki squirm. "If it isn't Kuga-han…"

_Shit._ Beware a Fujino with possible blackmailing material.

"Were you enjoying the view?"

Natsuki flushed heavily. "O-of course not! Shut up! Stop being stupid!"

She turned away, but even though she tried her hardest, she could not escape Fujino Shizuru's laughter. And much to her irritation, it was a _real_ laugh.

A r_eal_ one.

_Friggin' Fujino…_

* * *

Fujino Shizuru could not be bothered to be entirely authentic with anyone about anything.

When she had arrived at Fuuka, everyone had instantly fallen in love with her and tried to be terribly friendly. With one outstanding exception.

"_Sorry. I don't deal well with hypocrites. And you're a hypocrite."_

She could still remember the feel of those hateful emerald eyes on her. She remembered feeling absolutely stunned. And then insulted.

The truth always hurts the worst, after all.

And this was why, after getting over the fact that someone hated her with a passion, Fujino Shizuru finally found herself feeling something that was entirely genuine towards someone other than herself. Sure, it was hatred, which meant it wasn't necessarily healthy, but it was still _something_.

At least she was taking steps, even if they were in all the wrong directions. At least she wasn't stuck in the same motions, like she had been before she'd met Natsuki.

And in that regard, she felt something somewhat similar to gratitude towards the other girl.

However, that didn't mean she did not detest the girl's attitude. So very flippant. So rude to those she didn't like. At least Shizuru bothered to be civil and did not glare in her direction every time she entered a room.

Though it _was_ very hard to abstain from that, at times. But because having the name Fujino was not just for show, Shizuru never actually lost control, and maintained her composure.

And now, even though she detested the girl with everything she had, she had to admit that Kuga Natsuki was beautiful. Gorgeous, even, and to an extent in which Shizuru was actually having trouble keeping her eyes off her.

What? It was her first time seeing the girl in her swimsuit. She had the right to ogle.

"Kaichou-san?"

Shizuru blinked and looked up to find herself face to face with a familiar red head. "Ara, Tokiha-han. How are you?"

She was greeted with a happy smile. She smiled back pleasantly, and sat up.

"I'm great, and we're having a lot of fun. But…" Mai hesitated, before continuing at Shizuru's inquisitive expression, "I wanted to apologize for Natsuki's behavior."

She was sorely tempted to grin at this. She didn't.

"Please don't worry about it. I am just as guilty as she is."

"Mai!" A spiky haired teenager latched herself onto the red head's side. "Come play with us!"

A husky huff. "Why are you explaining my behavior to a walking tea leaf?"

Shizuru had to practice restraint again. She _wouldn't_ mention Natsuki's choice in swimsuit. She _wouldn't_. She did anyway.

"Ara…Kuga-han…your swimsuit…I do believe you're missing a piece."

The younger girl flushed bright red and looked down at herself in alarm before scowling furiously and glaring at her. Shizuru laughed as the girl growled fiercely in an attempt to shut her up.

"I-idiot! I'm not missing a piece!"

"Ara…" She tapped her chin mock thoughtfully, "But I thought your chest was supposed to be covered…Kuga-han actually has a secret naughty side, doesn't she?"

And Kuga Natsuki's blush worsened.

"Sh-shut up! Who's the pot calling the kettle black?!"

"So Kuga-han _does_ know how to use that saying."

"Of course I do!" The girl huffed, blatantly annoyed. "I'm not an idiot!"

Shizuru smiled blandly. "Really?"

"Oi! Don't sound so surprised!"

Mai sighed beside them. She resigned herself to the continuation of the Kujino wars (cruise edition).

Mikoto tugged her hand. "Can we please go get some ice cream, Mai?"

"Sure, Mikoto. Let's go get ice cream."

* * *

It was later on in the day, nearing the nine o'clock dining schedule, when the bad weather began.

The ship was constantly swaying because of the active sea, and Mikoto was actually having a hard time keeping everything she had previously eaten inside her stomach. Natsuki, now dressed in dark blue jeans, a light, formfitting shirt, and a jacket, was lounging on her bed, watching TV. Nao groaned from her spot on Mai's bed.

"I take it back. This is even worse than I thought. You're a _desperate_ closet lesbian." She stated flatly, and at Natsuki's bewildered and pissed off expression, she added, "Those models aren't even hot."

The biker scowled. "I'm looking at the stuff the models are w_earing_, you idiot."

Mai nodded at the foot of Natsuki's bed. "That's what I thought it was…" She looked up at Nao, who was gazing at the both of them questioningly. "Natsuki has a thing for lingerie."

The green eyed red head watched as the girl on the other bed twitched and blushed. And then she burst out laughing.

"Ahaha!" She cackled, holding her sides, "Weird fetish!"

"W-what?!" Natsuki sputtered in embarrassment, "I-it's not like that!"

"That just convinces me you're a lesbian even more!" Nao snickered, before smirking smugly, "And it also explains why you kept staring at Fujino at the pool earlier today."

"I wasn't staring! I was politely observing! So she had a nice swimsuit! Sue me!"

"Nice swimsuit or nice ass?" Nao quipped easily, and was promptly growled at.

Even Mai laughed at that, and Natsuki had to fight in order to keep herself from spontaneously combusting.

"I can make you go back to your own room, again." She threatened, and the young vixen instantly paled.

Thoughts of Chie and Aoi in various compromising positions made her die a little on the inside. She remained silent, and the biker half smirked. Victory was sweet.

She went back to watching people model lingerie, but after a while, it became harder to concentrate. Something began to nag at the back of her mind. She looked at Mai, whose expression was slightly troubled.

"What is it?"

"It's Mikoto…she's not back yet." The red head replied softly.

Nao perked up at the sound of their voices. "She's not with Chie or Aoi?"

"No." Mai grimaced, "She said she would come right back after getting some more ice cream."

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "That girl can't go without eating something for more than half an hour." She stood up and carefully made her way over to the door. "I'll go find her. Be right back."

"Are you sure?" Mai asked her, "I was planning on going myself."

She waved the girl's worries off.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I wanted to go for a walk anyway."

Nao shrugged and reached for the remote. "Whatever. Kid's not my problem."

She sighed in annoyance, opened the door, and stepped through it.

"Hurry back!"

"Don't fall off the boat, Kuga."

Her lips twitched in irritation. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, sponge head?"

She shut the door before she could hear Nao's reply.

The ship suddenly pitched. She had to reach out and lean against the wall to keep from falling over. She frowned slightly, but squashed the unnaturally nervous fluttering in her stomach. It wasn't like the thing was going to sink.

She walked down the hallway, taking the same path to the elevators that she had that morning. She pressed the arrow pointing up, and once inside the unfortunately cramped box, pressed the number nine. Music began to filter through, a pulsing beat that had her tapping her foot. She briefly wondered where it was coming from before remembering that there was a club on floor eleven.

The cold hit her as soon as she walked outside of the elevator. It was raining outside, and there was no way Mikoto would have risked it when Mai had told her not to. She scowled. She was going to have to go back down to floor four in order to get to the dining hall.

She groaned under her breath and decided to take the stairs.

With the ship tilting constantly, she had a hard time keeping her footing. She managed not to trip, though, and made it to the dining hall intact. Much to her increasing dismay, Mikoto was not there.

"Where'd the little runt go?" She muttered, and, out of curiosity, peeked outside.

What she saw was not what she expected. Fujino Shizuru and Minagi Mikoto were holding a conversation. And it wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that Mikoto was talking to _Shizuru_. And, well, it was raining and probably very slippery outside, and Mai would have quite possibly had a heart attack if she'd seen them.

Natsuki frowned. Why in the world would Mikoto want to talk to _Fujino_?

She stepped outside slowly, without drawing attention to herself.

"…you a lot. Mai says it's because she's in denial about the fact that she's grown attached to you."

"Ara ara…" She heard Fujino giggle.

She blinked, startled. She was laughing in genuine amusement.

"I wasn't aware Kuga-han had the slightest bit of a soft spot for me."

Natsuki flushed and stepped into the conversation. She made an erratic hand gesture that drew both of their gazes towards her.

"Mai's looking for you, Mikoto. She's worried." She stated angrily and the girl blinked innocently before nodding, murmuring, "It's not good to make Mai worry.", and going back inside.

She then glared at Shizuru. "What the hell are you doing out here? I thought you of all people would have more sense than this."

Shizuru smiled wryly. "I'm not sure if I should be insulted, Kuga-han. Would you care to elaborate?"

Natsuki snorted and pointed behind her. "Just come back inside. It's not like I care, but I really don't want to be blamed for your death if something happens to you and I was the last person to see you."

But that stupid Fujino simply smiled and turned around to face the churning ocean. She sighed and walked towards her, taking her place on the railing a few feet away. She could hardly see the moon through the dark clouds and the pouring rain. The wind whipped against her face and got her wet despite the canopy above them.

It was obnoxious, she decided. She supposed it fit for Fujino to be out here in weather like this. They matched.

"Hey, Fujino…"

She saw the girl's head tilt towards her, a little. Her hair was wet and plastered to her face. Natsuki thought she looked better, that way. She looked imperfect, and therefore human. Flawed.

She was beautiful. Natsuki scowled at the thought and turned away.

"Yes, Kuga-han?"

Her hands clenched tightly on the rail.

"Are you here by yourself?"

"Ara…" Another hum of sadistic delight. "Is that concern I hear, Kuga-han?"

She rolled her eyes, even though her face erupted in flames. "N-no. I was just curious."

There were a few moments of silence, or something somewhat similar to it, since the wind was pretty much _howling_, and…and then Shizuru answered her.

"I won't be alone by tomorrow afternoon." Her voice was unreadable. "My parents are going to meet me at our first stop, along with the candidate they have chosen for me to marry."

Something strange shot through her. An odd sensation. She brushed it off and grunted in response. She wasn't about to pretend to sympathize just because Fujino had decided to be fairly honest with her. The fact that she had was unnerving all on its own, after all.

In order to distract herself, she looked down at the raging waters. The boat kept tilting from side to side. Immediately below them, a lifeboat was swinging dangerously from side to side.

She frowned. Was that even normal? She hardly knew anything about cruise ships, but…

She eyed the ropes that were supposed to hold it in place, from the spot at the bottom that was tied to the lifeboat, up to the spot where they were tied to the cruise ship. Two of them were fastened to the pillar right beside her, and the other two to the pillar beside Shizuru. It was the same for the rest of the lifeboats and their respective pillars. Except that theirs was off, somehow. The pillar was groaning with every sway of the boat, and the lifeboat right below them was the only one moving almost violently from side to side.

"S-Shizuru…" She called nervously, "Is that normal?"

The girl giggled. "Ara…Kuga-han called me by my first name. Could it be that I'm growing on her?"

She huffed, embarrassed. "S-shut up! Be serious, for once! Take a look at this."

She pointed in the lifeboat's general direction, and the crimson eyed girl raised an eyebrow. Something felt off.

"We had better go back inside, Kuga-han, and tell someone about this."

And Kuga Natsuki had, for the first time, been about to agree with Fujino Shizuru. Except that something seemed to explode next to her ear.

The pillar beside her snapped and fell away, taking the railing with it. And suddenly, she was plunging face first towards the ocean. Something cold gripped her wrist and she changed directions. Her body collided against the hard wooden floor of the lifeboat, and her whole right side exploded with pain. But she didn't have time to recover or to think about anything, because she was sliding backwards.

"Natsuki!"

It was a surprisingly panicked cry considering who it belonged to, and it was also the only thing she managed to hear before a body latched onto her waist, dragging her down even more. She scrambled to hold on to one of the benches, and cried out when the lifeboat banged against the hull of the ship, nearly making her lose her grip. She could hardly see anything because of the rain, and she could taste salt water on her lips. Arms were wrapped around her so tightly she couldn't breathe.

She was vaguely aware of the sound of a horn, and suddenly, the other ropes snapped, a cracking sound that was akin to thunder and made her blood run cold.

They were falling again, and she was desperately trying to hold on to the bench, and suddenly, they landed and apart from the terrible pain, wave after wave of salt water assaulted her. She sputtered, gasping for breath as the lifeboat nearly tipped over and everything was absolute chaos around her. Horror and dread and absolute fear slithered around in her stomach.

And then there was the _real_ explosion off somewhere in the distance, a thing that made the sky light up the prettiest color, that made her want to hurt someone. But she just gripped the bench and held onto it for dear life, and concentrated on feeling Fujino Shizuru tremble against her.

She didn't think about the smoke rising up to the sky and the fading heat, didn't think about the ship that was rapidly disappearing from sight.

She simply thought about Fujino and her good taste in lingerie, and the fact that the other girl was turning out to be a complete stalker.

_Damn Fujino, following me around everywhere…_

She ignored the little part of herself that was actually glad the older girl was there with her.

**A/N: **Yay for the first chapter. I know I said I'd post it on Friday, but I was robbed that day. My mother's still broken up about all her jewels being stolen. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that they didn't even _touch_ my room.

Anyway. I'm sick now, with a fever. Which also sucks. But yeah. Here it is. And thanks for alerting it. XD I didn't actually think people would review and alert it so much, considering it was like, four hundred and some words. Thanks for reading.

Please help me and point out the mistakes. I tried to go over it myself, but since I have a splitting headache, I doubt I did that great a job. :D Later.

PS: Thanks so much for reviewing.


	3. Ch 2: Adrift

In all the Wrong Directions

**Chapter 2: **Adrift

"_Listening to people who hate each other argue is amusing to those uninvolved."  
_-Unknown Source

"Sh-Shizuru…" She called out uncertainly.

She noticed that her voice was shaking, so she cleared her throat. Like hell she'd let herself sound weak in front of Fujino.

"Shizuru." She called again, this time sounding much more self-assured. "You still alive?"

"So it would seem…" She heard the other girl murmur, and there was suddenly a touch on her arm. "Are you injured?"

Natsuki frowned. "Other than a couple of bruises, I think I'm okay…"

"Well, one of us had to be lucky, I suppose…"

Small tendrils of anxiety shot throughout her body. She roughly shook them off and tentatively sat up. Nothing happened. It continued to rain buckets, and the ocean was still somewhat frisky. She leaned down, ignoring spasms of discomfort, and moved until her back was to the bench. She barely managed to make out Fujino through the rain and the still dark sky.

"I think, and this is just me, but I think we're pretty lucky we even landed on this stupid piece of flotsam." She frowned, concerned despite herself. "Where does it hurt?"

"Ara…I wasn't aware that Natsuki cared."

Her cheeks flooded with warmth. "I _don't_ care. And don't call me that."

The older girl seemed to giggle. It was an irritating giggle. She growled in response, which only made Shizuru laugh harder.

"But Natsuki calls me by my name…wouldn't that make Natsuki a hypocrite?"

She was grateful for the darkness. "S-shut up. You're infuriating."

"If Natsuki finds my presence so unbearable, then maybe she should just jump into the ocean and save us both the trouble."

Natsuki scowled. "I might just do that…" She muttered under her breath.

Then paused.

Wait a second.

Why should _she_ have to be the one to jump ship?

"_You_ do it." She stated, and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're the problem here. Plus, you'd be saving me the trouble of having to knock you out when you go crazy from tea deficiency."

At that moment, Fujino Shizuru had a lot of trouble maintaining her composure. She smiled coldly in Kuga Natsuki's direction.

"But if _you_ jumped, you wouldn't have to face mayo shortage."

Natsuki, who was actually worried about that particular detail, scoffed.

"Tea addict."

Shizuru smiled, feeling slightly smug.

"Mayo drinker."

Natsuki winced. "God, just shut up and tell me where it hurts."

Shizuru paused for a brief moment. She was feeling slightly hesitant, for some reason.

"…My left wrist." She admitted softly.

"…Is it broken?"

She was surprised to hear some worry in the younger girl's voice. She blinked and wiped the hair out of her face.

"I don't think so. It simply stings."

Natsuki exhaled sharply. "Is it bleeding?"

"…I'm…not sure."

"How the hell is that possible?" The girl grumbled, frustrated with their situation.

"Well, maybe if I could see…" Shizuru muttered dryly, and allowed herself to curl forwards in order to protect the afflicted limb with her body.

She rested her right arm along the bench and leaned her forehead against it, trying to control the shivers that threatened to overwhelm her. What impossibly rotten luck. How was it possible that she had picked the _one_ area in the ship to not have been properly secured? She sighed, squashing her distress. She needed to think about this rationally, or at least, as rationally as she could in her current situation.

The cruise ship was scheduled to arrive at the next spot at ten in the morning. Taking the bad weather into account and not to mention the explosion, the speed had probably been reduced for safety, and this would be delayed. By the time her parents arrived and noticed her absence, the lifeboat could have strayed off course for miles.

Of course, there was also Natsuki's absence to consider. Would her friends notice it immediately and notify someone? And by then, how much longer would it take for everyone to get organized and scour the ship, to figure out she wasn't _on_ it? Plus, the missing lifeboat would surely be noticed. That would, perhaps, help the situation, a little…

But would anyone really come back in search of a lifeboat?

She shook her head slightly, muffling a small noise.

That, in itself, presented another problem. The last person to see them had been Mikoto, right at the spot for the missing lifeboat. The most likely assumption would be that they had fallen off and into the ocean. And because of the sea currents and the large swells, the possibility that they had managed to get on the lifeboat would be very low.

They had not had lifejackets on.

They had not been prepared.

And, by following that simple line of logic, it would obviously be assumed that they had drowned. She did not even want to think about adding the issue of the explosion.

Fujino Shizuru had the desperate and slightly pathetic urge to cuss. She resisted. Which was actually a good thing, because Natsuki, having arrived to somewhat similar conclusions through very different mental processes, said everything for her.

"We're fucked."

Shizuru laughed.

XxX

By the time the swells calmed and the rain stopped, the sun was rising.

Neither of them had gotten a wink of sleep, which was actually relatively normal for Natsuki, but didn't really do anything to help her in the mood department. Shizuru was simply short on patience. Which was why she was replying in testier ways as the time went by.

"I still can't see shit."

"Would you not curse? It's rather unbecoming, and I believe my ears are beginning to rot."

Natsuki bit back a nasty retort and rolled her eyes instead. She continued searching the lifeboat for the supposed box that could save their lives.

"Well," She said after a little while, "It's definitely not in the back."

Up at the front of the lifeboat, with her injured wrist curled against her side, Shizuru leaned down on the floor and looked underneath the bench.

_Found you_. She thought in relief.

"It's all right." She said, and waved the other girl over. "I've just found it."

Natsuki made her way over to the red eyed girl, careful not to make any sudden movements. She was still paranoid that the thing would start shaking all over again and she'd be forced to empty her stomach. Once there, she crouched down on the other side of the magical, lifesaving bench and peered down to find a metal locker.

"It's small." She muttered in surprise.

Shizuru smiled wryly. "Yes. I doubt they really expected to have to wait for more than a day, at most. I'm sure there's more than enough for the both of us, however, since this lifeboat is big enough to hold twenty-five people." She sat down on the somewhat flooded floor. "We should actually take this as a good sign, though, because it might mean this lifeboat has some kind of distress signal."

Natsuki nodded thoughtfully. The thought that she'd actually been having a relatively civil conversation with Fujino Shizuru did not even cross her mind.

"So that means someone might pick us up on their radar…"

"Right." The other girl agreed, and motioned towards the locker. "Could you open it? I'm not sure I can."

The younger girl resisted the urge to tell her she was just lazy. It was irrational to hold her ventures (which involved her bossing around Haruka while doing nothing herself) during her time as student council president against her when she was genuinely injured and bleeding.

Wait.

Waaaait a minute.

"You're bleeding." She stated flatly, gazing at the tea drinker expectantly.

Shizuru looked down at her wrist. A part of Natsuki was disappointed at the fact that the other girl wasn't really bleeding tea like she'd once said in a fit of anger.

"Ara…" She said in surprise. "It appears I am."

They were still, for a few seconds, but because it was impossible for Shizuru to feel awkward, they simply regarded each other in silent speculation.

"As in, blood." Natsuki persisted unnecessarily.

The older girl stared at her as though she had grown a second head.

"...Yes." She answered slowly. "I'm bleeding."

Natsuki scowled at her.

"As in, the red stuff that isn't supposed to come out is coming out." She elaborated.

Fujino's lips twitched. She was having a hard time suppressing her smiles.

"…I do believe that's what bleeding entails, yes." She replied, amused.

The emerald eyed girl exploded.

"Why aren't you making a fuss?!"

The red eyed eighteen year old blinked.

"Kuga-han would prefer it if I complained?" She asked, feeling slightly incredulous.

"Yes!" The girl exclaimed, and then paused, for a second. "I mean, no…but yes…but…agh! I'd just appreciate it if you showed some signs of being human!" She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "At least show some concern for your wellbeing."

"Ara…but I am very concerned."

"You sure as hell don't _seem_ concerned."

"I am." Natsuki was smiled at.

"…Whatever."

She scowled and turned back to the metal locker underneath the bench. She reached out for the clasp on the lid and tugged at it.

It refused to budge.

"Damn it…" She muttered under her breath, and prepared to use all of her strength.

She got a good grip on the lid and gave it a nice yank. And promptly fell back with a splash. She glared at the lid in her hands and threw it overboard.

Shizuru stared at her in the very flat way of someone who has just seen someone stupid break the stupid-o-meter.

Natsuki glared at her. "What?"

Fujino took a deep breath and rubbed her temples in order to release some of the tension.

"That lid was there to keep the supplies dry."

The green eyed girl suddenly felt extremely foolish. She huffed and carefully stood up, ignoring the blush she felt rising up her neck. She could see the lid floating away from them. She grimaced at the thought of having to get wet and shot Shizuru a dirty look that clearly said, 'I hate you', in large, bold letters.

She then took off her jacket and tossed it on the bench, but before she could jump in, a hand had latched onto her ankle. She looked down to find Shizuru glaring at her.

Fujino Shizuru was actually glaring at her.

_Glaring_.

Natsuki felt shivers crawling up and down her spine.

"What do you think you're doing, Kuga-han?"

She frowned, confused. "I was going to go get the stupid lid."

Fujino made a noise of frustration underneath her breath.

"Did no one ever tell you not to defy the unpredictability of the ocean's currents if stranded on a lifeboat?" She asked, brow furrowed, "Don't you understand that by the time you get there, I could be yards away from you? Think a little, Natsuki. We can't afford mistakes."

Anger bloomed in her chest. She shook Shizuru's hand off and stepped back, glaring at her.

"Why the hell do you care? I thought you'd be happy if I drowned." Fujino's expression grew all the more enraged. "Look at it this way: more supplies for you!"

"You're being extremely immature, Kuga-han." The older girl snapped, sitting up straight. "Hating you and wanting you to die are two entirely different things."

"Oh, really? Then please elaborate, because I, for one, _can't_ tell the difference."

Shizuru's eyes flashed. "Then while I'm at it, I shall also have to point out that these are the thoughts that make you a fully barbaric individual, along with your distasteful love of mayonnaise."

Barbaric?

"Barbaric?! I'm not barbaric!" She sputtered, face red, "And mayonnaise isn't food for barbarians!"

"Oh, you're right, Natsuki." The other girl said with a scowl. "Mayonnaise isn't food at all!"

"Yes it is! You just don't have a palate refined enough to appreciate it!"

"Mayonnaise has little to no nutritional value, and most of what it does is make you fat, which is probably why Kuga-han was looking a little round around the edges yesterday at the pool-"

"Oh, so now you're calling me fat?"

"Are we _really_ arguing about this?"

"…"

"…"

They scowled at each other for a few brief moments before looking away. Natsuki sat down on one of the benches, head resting on the palm of her hand as she quietly sulked. And not that she would have ever admitted it, but she was also a bit worried about her figure.

_Am I really getting…rounder?_

She shook her head roughly. No way. It was just Fujino's way of tormenting her.

"Well, Kuga-han…" Shizuru suddenly began, her voice sounding rather wry, "I believe we have a total of thirty water bottles, sixty packets of what I assume is food, two twenty feet long pieces of rope, a flashlight with spare batteries, a knife, a flare gun with a gargantuan total of three flares, a first aid kit, twenty-eight lifejackets, six oars, and a couple of dead and dying roaches."

The corners of her lips quirked up, despite herself.

"We could always roast those roaches later on."

The red eyed girl sighed and turned to look at her. Her expression was slightly grim.

"This isn't good."

Natsuki looked away.

"I know, but there's no reason to believe they won't find us." She replied, "We're not dead yet."

"We should be realistic, Kuga-han, and prepare for the worst. To be honest, I don't think we can count on their searching for us for more than a few days." She smiled, but it was somewhat cynical. "And they'll probably do that reluctantly. There's very little chance that two teenage girls could stay alive over night during a storm without shelter. Add to that the fact that neither of us was wearing a lifejacket, and little chance just turned into zero."

And though she absolutely loathed admitting it, Natsuki knew the other girl was right.

XxX

"I am so bored…"

She was lying face down across one of the benches as the sun beat down upon her. And God damn it, the sweltering heat just made everything worse.

"Ara ara…is Kuga-han coming onto me?"

Natsuki, who was already flushed from the sun, lifted her head up and peered at Shizuru through narrowed eyes. The infuriating girl was leaning against a bench on the other side of the lifeboat, lips curled into a slight smirk. Her eyes were closed.

It made the green eyed girl feel extremely annoyed. Shizuru wasn't even _looking_ at her.

"How is it that you manage to turn everything I say into something convenient for your own intents and purposes?" She asked, her voice full of genuine wonder and only partial irritation.

"Why, Natsuki." The older girl seemed halfway amused at this, "I truly have no idea what you're talking about. You're the one who continues to make indecent insinuations as to our relationship."

"No, I think you have that reversed. See, in my opinion, _you're _the one who transforms anything I say into an indecent insinuation. All I say is innocent."

"Ara, but to fully transform something, it has to have the potential to change. Natsuki's words are not nearly innocent enough, and could be easily misinterpreted."

"Don't try to pin your perverse desires on me."

"I should be entirely above suspicion. Kuga-han is the delinquent here, not I."

Before she could open her mouth to retort, something whizzed past her ear and landed in the middle of the lifeboat with a loud bang. Shizuru's eyes shot open in an instant, meeting Natsuki's across the lifeboat. They exchanged alarmed glances before Natsuki was on her knees, reaching for an oar. That was when something began to knock against the side of the boat with an almost panicked rhythm.

Shizuru crawled forward slowly, hands flat against the bench in front of her. She craned her neck up, trying to see past the next bench. Which was when something struck her, _hard_, across the face and she lost her balance.

For the second time in less than twenty four hours, she plummeted towards the ocean.

She only managed to hear half of Natsuki's startled cry before she plunged face first into the water. Panic rose inside her as she twisted around and kicked her feet, reaching for the surface. She broke it with a gasp, her face stinging where she'd been hit and a sudden, intense paranoia assaulted her senses.

What was lurking beneath the surface, waiting to whisk her away?

"Fujino!"

That was when she noticed fish sailing across the water, hundreds of them, trying to escape even bigger fish. They were Flying fish, trying to escape the Dorado that were trying to eat them. And the Dorado, who were being eaten by-

"Move it, Fujino! This way!"

And Natsuki, who was being hit from behind by fish who'd made errant jumps, was holding out an oar in desperation. But the fear in her eyes was what made Shizuru lunge for it.

Her hands circled around the handle and she gripped it, tightly, kicking her legs for all she was worth. From her end, Natsuki tried her best to pull her in, tugging at the thing almost angrily as she was battered from behind. She was going to have bruises everywhere, soon, but at the moment, she didn't really care. All she cared about right then was getting Shizuru back on the boat unharmed. Those fins rising out of the water were-

"Lose some weight, Fujino!" She shouted fiercely, reaching for the older girl's hand and heaving as she ditched the oar and tried to drag her out of the water.

It was amazing to Shizuru how Natsuki could still manage to annoy her when they were both in the middle of the ocean, in a very precarious situation. She scrambled to grab something in order to pull herself out of the water, swallowing a cry when her wrist flared with pain.

And then she was out of the water and they were both falling backwards into the lifeboat, breathing into each other as Shizuru inadvertently pinned the younger girl to the floor. But suddenly, as soon as she'd opened her mouth to say something admittedly along the lines of 'Ara, Kuga-han… if you wanted me on top of you, all you had to do was ask.', something knocked into the boat, making it sway dangerously from side to side.

For the next minute or so, there were several bumps, each one right after the other, on both sides. Natsuki's hands were still curled around her blouse, her breath coming in small, soft pants beside her ear. She herself was trying her very hardest not to let herself rest on top of the girl, though the temptation to fluster and bother her was great. And even though she was aware that the younger girl could only take so much in the span of a day, it still didn't stop her from leaning down and pretty much breathing in her ear.

She took a very large amount of slightly sadistic satisfaction in the ruffled noise the silly girl made in the back of her throat.

"You can get off me, now." The girl growled, voice rough.

"Those were sharks." She replied, before moving her body to the side in order to let the other girl sit up. "And I'm bleeding, again. I believe I lost the bandage I wrapped around my wrist earlier in the water."

Natsuki, who'd been thinking the damnable things would break through the hull of the boat, agreed that that was a problem they'd have to solve. So, thanking whatever power was out there that the barrage of flying fish had stopped, she sidestepped her way across a floor full of still flopping fish and got out the first aid kit.

She brought it back to Shizuru, opened it for her, and then sat back with her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?" She snapped irritably, when the older girl continued to stare at her.

Shizuru grinned a little, and even before she'd opened her mouth, Natsuki knew something bad was going to happen.

"Aren't you going to play doctor, Kuga-han?"

After which the girl huffed and glared at her before forcefully grabbing her wrist and applying some disinfectant.

XxX

"The next time I see a flying fish jumping at me, I'm playing baseball with those oars." She muttered darkly, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she gingerly picked one up and threw it overboard.

Much to her surprise, Fujino Shizuru laughed. "I believe I'll join in on that, next time."

Natsuki snorted and leaned down to pick up another one.

"No offense, Fujino, but you don't seem like you could hit a moving target if you tried."

Shizuru's lips tilted up at the corners. "Appearances are deceiving, Kuga-han."

"Particularly with you." She muttered under her breath, before giving up on clearing the lifeboat of fish before the sun completely disappeared behind the horizon.

She plopped down across from Shizuru, shivering despite herself. It was cold, and she still wasn't entirely dry from the day's earlier events. And she'd nearly successfully spaced out when the walking tea leaf moved to sit beside her.

Natsuki fidgeted uncomfortably, but stayed where she was, certain that the other girl was just feeling restless. And so it was that Shizuru continued to shift sideways, discreetly, until she was joined to the other girl's hip and they were touching shoulder to shoulder. But then the red eyed girl grabbed her arm and _snuggled it_ and that was simply too much for Kuga Natsuki to take.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted, trying to slip away from the older girl, who refused to let go.

"Kuga-han is very warm. I should have done this sooner."

Natsuki blushed furiously as Shizuru leaned against her, head resting against her shoulder.

"Don't steal my body heat, you heat stealer." She growled futilely, a part of her already resigned to the fact that she would indeed let Fujino Shizuru have her way.

"I'm not stealing it. We're sharing." The girl's voice was entirely complacent, now. "And why is Natsuki complaining? I thought it was her dream to cuddle up to me."

"It's not my dream to cuddle up to _anything_!"

But then next morning, when she woke up, it was she who was holding on to Shizuru and not the other way around.

"Kuga-han is terribly amusing when asleep."

"Sh-shut up!"

**A/N: **

So this is really late. I'm very sorry about that. I'll hopefully be updating more often, now that it's summer, but I can't promise anything because of my gargantuan workload for the summer. AP classes suck like that.


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